Lead Hacker

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at a hackathon event in 2016. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is closing down The Garage, a set of popular maker spaces where employees worked on experimental projects and collaborated on surprising new apps and hardware during the company's annual hackathon events. "We're winding down The Garage program as a centralized function," says Microsoft in an internal FAQ to employees, seen by Notepad . "We will continue to explore new ways to help employees build skills, collaborate across boundaries, and bring a hacker mindset to their work." GeekWire first reported on The Garage's closure. The main Garage space was located at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus and served as the central hub … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1016389/microsoft-garage-closure-hackathon-notepad

Your blood, for “immortality.” | Image: Cath Virgina / The Verge, Getty Images This is Optimizer , a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here . It's an overcast Saturday morning when I give my 12th vial of blood for testing in six weeks. It's my 24th this year. At this point, I feel like a pro. I schedule these blood draws first thing in the morning so I don't get hangry, download the requisition papers ahead of time, avoid strenuous exercise for the 24 hours prior, and make sure to drink a glass of water beforehand so my teeny veins are easier for the phlebotomist to f … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/1015563/blood-death-clock-longevity-apps-health-tech

Despite Meta saying it would stop creating new content for Supernatural , the beloved fitness VR game is back after spinning off to go its own way and is relaunching with an Early Access preview in the Meta Horizon Store . Thousands of "remastered" workouts and some new ones are available in the new app starting today, but more are on the way. As previously announced, the newly independent app also costs more, going from $9.99 per month to $20 per month or $200 per year. Starting next week, Supernatural will get new workouts every week. The game's developers also write, "More back-catalog favorites will return in the weeks and months ahead, w … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1015550/supernatural-vr-workout-app-relaunch

If you know for sure that a website flagged as suspicious is actually safe, you can mark it as such. | Image: Google Google is launching a new browser safety feature for Chrome that aims to keep you better informed about how malicious a website might be before you open it. The new suspicious site warnings, available when Chrome's Enhanced Protection is on, build on a similar two-stage system introduced for Chrome file downloads in 2024 , which provides visually different notifications for blocked files based on whether they're determined to be "suspicious" or "dangerous." For the Chrome site warnings, the feature will flag a website as suspicious if it detects that it has similar qualities to other sites associated with phishing, malware, and scams. Google … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1014446/google-chrome-suspicious-website-warning

Arturia is adding to its Freak line of proudly weird digital synths with the MiniFreak 49. Under the hood, it's almost identical to the current MiniFreak , but it adds a number of more professional features and some interface improvements. The most noticeable change is that, rather than the MiniFreak's 37 minikeys or the MicroFreak's 25 "key" touchplate, the MiniFreak 49 has (as you may have guessed) 49 full-sized, semi-weighted keys. Though it's somewhat disappointing that they feature only mono aftertouch instead of polyphonic aftertouch. It also trades the touchstrips of the other Freak instruments for proper aluminum pitch and mod wheel … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/1014255/arturias-minifreak-49-synthesizer

The Miles is a smart plug for your car. My 15-year-old daughter just got her learner's permit, so when I was pitched a new gadget tailored to teen drivers, I was intrigued. The Miles Plug is a small device that plugs into your car's OBD-II port and monitors location, driving habits, and vehicle health, along with emergency accident response and roadside assistance. The idea is that knowing all these things should help me feel more comfortable when my daughter starts driving alone. I tested the (now discontinued) Ring Car Cam when my son was learning to drive, but he hated it and refused to turn it on; I wondered if the Miles could provide the same peace of mind without feeling a … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1013918/miles-plug-vehicle-tracking-data-privacy-specs-price-launch-date

Sony’s WF-1000XM6 are on sale in black today only. | Image: Sony For a very limited time, Sony’s latest high-end noise-canceling earbuds are actually cheaper than their last-gen counterpart, the WF-1000XM5 . B&H Photo is selling Sony’s latest WF-1000XM6 in black for an all-time low of $238 ($92 off) at checkout. Other retailers aren’t currently offering a discount on the XM6. Sony WF-1000XM6 earbuds Where to Buy: $329.99 $238 at B&H Photo The XM6 are a solid upgrade over their predecessor and easily amongst the best noise-canceling wireless earbuds on the market. In his review , John Higgins noted that they do a better job of tuning out other people’s conversations than any other earbuds he’s tested. Sony has also improved the bone-conduction sensor and added AI-powered microphones that help keep your voice clear during calls, even in noisy environments. The XM6 earbuds also deliver clean, balanced sound with impressive bass, raising the...

Apple has sent invites to a second product launch this month, and it's scheduled for October 28th at 1PM ET in Los Angeles. At the event, Apple is set to announce new Macs and a refreshed iPad Mini, according to Bloomberg . The big announcement is expected to be a new MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen that's also lighter and has an iPhone-like Dynamic Island. But Apple is also planning on revealing a 14-inch MacBook Pro and a new iMac with the M6 chip, which was recently introduced with the Mac Mini . Apple's updated iPad Mini will apparently finally get an OLED screen as well and put the selfie cam on the landscape edge. "Can't wait to p … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1013028/apple-second-october-product-launch-announcement

Now, former Savannah police officer Amber Harpe was fired in August following a department investigation that found she had shared her Flock login information with her husband, Tyler Harpe, an ICE agent. SPD does not share its Flock data with ICE and said sharing access to the system violated the department's security protocols. While he had unauthorized access to the system, Tyler Harpe conducted 983 searches related to 97 license plates, which were overwhelmingly registered to Hispanic drivers, according to Savannah's local ABC affiliate, WJCL . The Harpes defended their actions, saying they didn't use access for personal reasons and that … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/policy/1013573/spd-officer-fired-flock-ice-husband

Mister Organ doesn't reach the level of societal horror of The Act of Killing or the creepypasta-meets-true-crime gruesomeness of Beware the Slenderman , but there's something deeply unsettling about Michael Organ and his intimate campaign of terror against everyone who enters his life. Mister Organ is a documentary by David Farrier, an Auckland, New Zealand journalist. The movie starts with Farrier reporting on Bashford Antiques, a shop in Ponsonby that has begun aggressively clamping cars in its lot and demanding exorbitant fees to release them - up to $760. Farrier's article for The Spinoff eventually led the government to introduce legi … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1013545/mister-organ-horror-documentary-review

Carolyn Marvin was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after blocking the path of an Uber delivery robot and refusing to get out of the way. Marvin told Philadelphia's ABC13 "I know they're taking the jobs of human delivery workers and so, I have been protesting them whenever I saw them by standing in front of them and preventing them from going forward." Police responded to the scene and asked Marvin to move out of the robot's way. When she refused, they placed her in cuffs and arrested her. The incident was captured on video and has now garnered considerable media attention. The delivery robots have become a common sight on the … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1013541/a-woman-was-arrested-in-philly-for-blocking-a-delivery-robot

Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York's 15th congressional district in the Bronx introduced the Power To The Players Act this week. If passed, the bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations that guarantee consumers ownership of a game when they pay for it, rather than a licensing agreement. It's increasingly common for games sold to require a connection to a server. Meaning that when a company decides to shut down those servers, the games often become unplayable. Rep. Torres singles out NBA 2K25 as a recent example. 2K will be delisting the game from storefronts at the end of the month and shutting down its servers on … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/policy/1013521/video-game-ownership-bill-congress-power-to-the-players-act

AUSTIN, TEXAS - APRIL 8: Tesla Cybercabs are lined up on a lot at Tesla Giga Texas in Austin, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. | Image: Getty Images This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on autonomous vehicles, policy, and road rules, follow Andrew J. Hawkins . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started The first state to pass a law legalizing self-driving cars operating on public roads was Nevada in June 2011 - long before such vehicles were operating on public roads. This was three years before the introduction of Tesla's Autopilot , five years before Waymo spun out of the Google self-driving car project, and seven years before the first commercial robotaxi … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1013220/robotaxi-self-driving-car-laws

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images Just ahead of the wider release of Alex Gibney's Musk documentary, TikTok has banned the film's social media account from its platform. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to The Hollywood Reporter , the film's distributor, Bleecker Street, was informed Friday afternoon that a "permanent suspension" was imminent. Bleecker Street has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Verge . While TikTok has no official affiliation with Elon Musk, part owner Larry Ellison appears in the film via a text message offering to help Musk fund his Twitter purchase. Last month, YouTube, Meta, X, and TikTok all face … Read the full story at The Verge. ...

Earlier this year, Mercedes' AMG performance brand grabbed our attention with the GT four-door coupe , a souped-up sports sedan with three axial flux motors delivering over 1,150 horsepower. Well, now meet its beefier cousin, the 2028 Mercedes-AMG GT SUV, an equally powerful, ultra-fast-charging electric people-hauler. The AMG GT SUV (say that five times fast) marks the first time in the performance brand's 59-year history that it has developed a full-size SUV entirely in-house from the ground up. Scheduled to hit the US next summer, the new EV is built on Merc's high-performance AMG.EA architecture to combine sports-car handling with full-s … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1013088/mercedes-amg-gt-suv-price-specs-performance

In 2024, Elon Musk promised to give away $1 million a day to a randomly selected registered voter in a swing state. That prompted legal challenges, raised questions about its legality, and drew lawsuits from two Arizona residents claiming the lottery was a fraud. Musk has now agreed to settle the two lawsuits filed in Austin, Texas, though the details of the settlement have not been made public. The plaintiffs claim that when Musk announced the sweepstakes, he falsely claimed the prizes would be awarded randomly. Philadelphia's District Attorney sued to stop the giveaway , claiming that Musk was running an illegal lottery. During a hearing, … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1013431/elon-musk-settles-lawsuits-over-1-million-voter-giveaway

After this horrific crash involving a Tesla driver who said he was asleep and using the driver assist mode, the California Highway Patrol warns that "Despite its name, full self-driving is not fully autonomous. Technology does not relieve drivers of their responsibility to safely operate their vehicles." Video released by CHP shows the Tesla speeding past flares, cones, and emergency lights where officers were on the scene of an earlier accident, before ramming into the back of a parked patrol vehicle. CHP says two officers were seriously injured in the accident and taken to a hospital. Two Solano CHP officers were seriously injured when … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1013280/tesla-chp-fsd-crash

Apple’s Home Collection is part of the company’s first major push into the smart home category. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge For more than a decade, Apple has told other companies to build smart home devices for its platform. This week, Apple launched its own . The Apple Home Collection is a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart door lock, and a video doorbell, all codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They arrive alongside HomeView , Apple's first smart display. Even after 12 years of HomeKit, Apple's smart home ecosystem still feels underdeveloped, especially compared to the competition. Amazon's and Google's ecosystems support more products, and both have popular in-house brands: Ring and Nest. Apple had nothing of its own to point c … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1013025/apple-home-collection-products-lg-schneider-smart-home

The new Apple TV 4K will be available in November. | Image: The Verge Earlier this week, Apple announced its new Apple TV 4K , which costs nearly twice as much as the 2022 model did at launch. Amazon is now offering the first discount on the forthcoming streaming box (coming out on November 13th), just days after discounting Apple’s new smart display for the first time. Right now, you can preorder the latest Apple TV 4K ahead of its November 13th release date for $289.99 ($9 off) at Amazon . Yes, it’s a tiny discount, but every little bit helps given the higher price tag. Apple TV 4K (2026) Where to Buy: $299 $289.99 at Amazon Powered by the new A19 chip, Apple’s latest streaming device now features support for Siri AI out of the box, which is coming to older Apple TV 4K models via a software update. Unlike its predecessors, though, the new model features far-field microphones so you can quickly make hands-free requests. You can, for example, ask ...

If you missed out on Prime Day’s headphones deals, you’re in luck. Sony’s latest flagship headphones are selling for even less than they did during Amazon’s big fall sale. As part of B&H Photo’s Deals of the Day , you can currently pick up Sony’s WH-1000XM6 noise-canceling headphones in silver for just $328 at checkout ($130 off) for the rest of the day. That’s one of the best prices we’ve seen, and much cheaper than what you’ll typically pay at major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, even during seasonal sales. Sony WH-1000XM6 Where to Buy: $458 $328 at B&H Photo The WH-1000XM6 are Sony’s best over-ear headphones yet, thanks in part to a new chip, which Sony says delivers the most powerful active noise cancellation in the series. Unsurprisingly, they also deliver the best sound of any WH-1000XM-series headphones to date, with new drivers that produce clearer vocals and richer bass. They’re great for work and life...